Kansas 88, Towson 58

Nobody was talking about an undefeated season or anything crazy like that after Kansas University’s fourth basketball victory of the 2013-14 campaign — Friday’s 88-58 taming of Towson in Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks players, and coach Bill Self, were impressed enough, however, to concede that this has the makings of one special squad.

“When we are playing our game, no one can stop us,” KU freshman guard Andrew Wiggins said after scoring 16 points off 6-of-8 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. He had 14 points the first half as KU cruised to a 49-16 lead.

“When we play in the flow of the game, no one can stop us. We have too many tools, too many weapons to use, especially when we are all playing well. Hitting shots like we were today and playing unselfish, no one can stop us,” Wiggins added.

KU had four players in double figures on a night no Jayhawk took more than eight shots. Andrew White III hit three threes in four tries and had 13 points; Wayne Selden 12 and Perry Ellis 10. Joel Embiid had eight points and eight boards on a night the (4-0) Jayhawks hit 60 percent of their shots to (3-2) Towson’s 36.7 percent.

KU outrebounded Towson, 40-28, and held the Tigers to 5-of-22 three-point shooting.

The Jayhawks had all the flashy plays, ramming eight dunks to Towson’s none.

“Potentially we could be one of the better teams without question,” Self said when informed Towson coach Pat Skerry said he can’t imagine a better team out there than No. 2-ranked KU.

“It was nice of Pat to say that. He caught us on a night we were better than we’ve practiced and played. By the end, if our young kids keep getting better, I think we’ll have a chance to be in the conversation. There are a lot of nice teams out there. Certainly when we play and play with energy, we can be one of the better ones,” Self added.

Senior power forward Tarik Black, who set the tone with two early dunks (in helping KU open with an 11-5 lead) said: “We have eight, nine new guys on this team. We are not going to be a perfectly flowing team. We will not be as flowing as some teams that have guys that returned, but we are looking very good. We are one of the top teams in the country and we deserve it. We are going to continue to work hard and try to move forward.”

Black, a 6-9, 260-pound transfer from Memphis who had picked up a pair of fouls in the opening minutes of KU’s first three games, this time had a steal and one-hand slam, giving KU a 6-5 lead at 17:11. He downed a dunk off a lob from Naadir Tharpe to make it 11-5.

“It felt real good because of the momentum thing,” Black said of his first dunk off his drive to the goal. “It got everything going. It’s what sparked everything. The next play, Wayne came down and had a two-hand dunk (and foul shot, following feed from Tharpe) . It gets everything flowing. It’s the energy and fun we want to have as a team this year.”

Black had four points and two boards in eight minutes the initial half, finishing with six points and four boards in 15 minutes.

“Coach (Kurtis) Townsend talked to me. He told me the thing about it is just be an aggressive player, because a guy like me, I’m going to pick up fouls, especially with the (new) rules this year. The whole team had fouls tonight,” Black said. Towson hit nine of 18 free throws to KU’s 15 of 22. “At the end of the night I had foul trouble (four). He (Townsend) told me, ‘Don’t be nervous. Don’t be shaky out there. That’s when you attract fouls. That’s when the refs will say, yeah (he’s committing a foul).’ If I come out there and play intense and high energy, then some things will shift.”

Self said Black, “is an angles guy and power guy. He did some active things tonight. He still got two quick fouls (second with 8:04 left in half). I thought one was cheap, but he’s a good player. It was good to see him get off the ‘schneid’ so to speak.”

And to finally have some fun as a Jayhawk.

“It felt great,” Black said. “As a basketball player, I don’t plan on coming out every night and sitting on the sideline, not at all. It felt good to be out there on the court doing what I love to do.”

KU will next meet Wake Forest in a Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinal at 2:30 p.m., Central time, Thursday in Bahamas.

Comments

I was kind of thinking what Wiggins said. I mean this is early in the season but geez louise these guys could be really good come March, possibly great. You have other teams to think about as well, but I can't remember a time when Self has had so many playmakers.

Agree Benze but we haven't had the talent or depth that this team has in the past. We can put 10 players in who all have the talent to bring energy and points and don't need to worry about one player having a horrendous game.

Mattered alot against Duke, and the kids stepped on the throat, as Self likes to say...So we know this group of kids is UNFAZED by high pressure. Already. How priceless is it to already know that about your team by the 4th game of the season...

Well I don't think this team is that much like Kentucky's two years ago, we have more depth than they did, while they only had 1 loss. This team could do amazing things but I say we lose 2 or 3 games. We lose at OSU, then I say we lose 1 non-conference game, along with one other. But who knows maybe they will!

The Fieldhouse was hopping tonight from the second they threw the ball in the air. That was one of the most exciting halves of regular season basketball I have ever seen. The crowd gave Black a standing ovation when he went to the bench the first time because he had more dunks than fouls. We were just happy to see him make it 5 minutes without fouling, regardless of the dunks!

This team is coming together very nicely and still has room for improvement. Tharpe was not very good to start the game at all with a few bad TOs and decisions. Embiid still needs to learn to walk his man up the lane and then seal him off for an easier pass into the post. Wiggins still needs to attack MORE.

With the depth of this team and the rules the way they are calling them, Kansas basketball should be a relentless assault. Wave after wave of players attacking the rim and moving without the ball and passing to find open cutters, posters and shooters.

Ben, OakvilleJHawk here, that is exactly it. Virtually al the old posters go to kubuckets.com. I came back because I can only handle one site at a time. :)

HEM stills posts here and maybe a few others but the LJW pretty much drove the Old Gang away with the facebook thing. Quite frankly, I haven't noticed a change in my life at all and this is still the best site for all things KU!!

Too bad, this site has been victim to poor vision/usage by LJW for a long time. If they had opted to go with Reddit style comments instead of facebook I think they would've had a lot more success retaining people. I will have to check out kubuckets. thanks.

icthawkfan here Ben. You'll find that since people have to use a real name, you'll get far fewer trolls.

I also always had a suspicion that there were a few posters who had a main profile they would post with, and then fake profiles they would use to kind of be groupies to the main profile. Artificially propping up the opinions of the main profile by offering support with the fakes ya know?

I do miss the nicknames. HEM will always be HEM, not Jack Wilson (or whatever I saw that it was). OAK will always be OAK, not Tony.

Some people simply do not want their real names tied to sites like this that are obviously tracking your facebook and google activities. I have zero interest in having my web usage turned into an advertising barrage. I refuse to use my real name for that reason, not because I have a problem with putting my real name to my statements or anything of that sort.

Just my little "screw you" to the site that clearly isn't interested in serving their audience ahead of making some advertising bucks.

And I still miss the CBS Sports message boards. There is now no message boards with a national audience. It was fun to be able to have conversations with different fan bases. It gets boring reading statements that are all basically the same opinion.

Yes, absolutely. It was obvious that "Martyrmangino," "Il Bastardo," and "the disclaimer" were the same person when they all started stalking me on the same day. Creepy creeps.

I still don't understand how posters like Benz can now use fake names. Initially it sounded like you must use your real name (as verified by FB or existing email address on file with LJW). Now it seems people can use fake names after all???

icthawk, first let me say I am a fan of your posts going back... however, I think you are off a little on this one.
I will agree with you on two things: there currently seems to be minimal trolling activity and a few posters likely had more than one account.

The thing is, there was never much trolling to begin with (some people simply have different/misguided opinions). Also, gratification in trolling only exists in the response to the troll opinion, so when KUSports had the marked decrease in comment participation from the new policy, the incentive (in terms of potential mass response) in trolling decreased.
As more people start posting with basketball season and conference play, you will see more "trolling".

The policy did nothing for the quality of comments in the long run. It is just as easy for UKtroll89 to register a gmail account and sign up a Facebook account as 'Benny Sherman', it just takes a few more minutes (again, more comment activity will make people more eager to spend those extra minutes). There is no way to moderate this because it is unfair to assume everyone has a longstanding Facebook account.
The only thing a link like this facilitates is demographic analysis/tracking and targeted advertising data. Don't be fooled by the LJW's white knighting.

Ben - thanks for saying you've enjoyed my posts. I wish I had time to post more regularly like I used to. This would definitely be a fun time to be conversing with my fellow hawk fans as much as possible.

Good insights on trolling. You're probably right, that it will increase as with basketball season getting into full swing, and it will probably be at the same proportion to the number of legit posters as there was before. That is to say, less trolls in terms of sheer numbers, but that there are less posters overall.

And don't get me wrong, I was in no way endorsing the new posting format nor giving LJW props for it. I did think the lessening of trolls would be a by-product, but I don't think that had anything to do with why they did it. Overall I'm not a fan, but as OAK said, this is still the best place to get stories & conversation about KU hoops.

1] I swear, if you took our bench team of Mason, Frankamp, Embiid, Traylor, White III, Greene and Lucas and put them out on the floor as a separate unit, they would be Top 25 and maybe even Top 10!!!

2] Would someone please rent Papa Embiid a Lawrence condo for this season so he could stay in town!!!

3] Love all the country flags in the crowd..Canada, Cameroon...no Missouri, however!!

4] I have been a Jayhwk for 47 years and this team, by far from top to bottom, is more athletic than any KU team I have ever seen and probably, any KU team period!!! Probably the toughest team they'll face, with a few exceptions, is the one they see every day in practice!!

5] I feel there is only one team in America that can beat these guys...and that's themselves. If they indeed play to their talent level and potential every game, they will go
40 - 0. That being said, as young as they are, they will stumble.

6] Haven't seen Jason and Olivia at a game yet. Must be on location somewhere.

7] Can you all imagine how good we'd be if Wayne, Andrew and Jo Jo stayed for four years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

as a Jayhawk for 20+ years i've always said the best team was the '97 team. I'm not saying that anymore. this team is scary good with incredible talent. my only fear about not being able to play together seems moot.

I don't want to talk about being undefeated, kentucky did that before the season even started and look where it got them.

I do sense a new attitude this year. before we were always apologetic about being a top seed. this year they know they are the best. I'm enjoying the difference.

'97 team (Roy team) gets beat by '08 Champ team--> Why? Because of the ridiculous defense and tough mentality the 08 guys had, and unparalleled team play. And the 08 guys were higher-flying athletes than even UNC or Memphis (in 08). Loved the '97 team, but how would they deal with MAJOR disruptions caused by D? And also important, how well did the '97 team play D compared to a Bill Self team? Roy has been sent packing by Self 3 out of the last 6 years, and even once when Self was at Illinois. Quit with the paper matchup, and realize the '97 vs '08 matchup would be on both ends of the floor. Also, that '97 team did not make the championship game for a reason...

1) Agreed. We're crazy deep this year. I wonder though, because we've thought to be deep in the past, how much Coach Self will use that depth to our advantage this year. It was just a few years ago that we had guys like EJ and Releford floundering on the bench getting such limited minutes. Maybe this team will be different, as the major difference in this year's squad to those of years past is that our depth was often young & inexperienced compared to the starters whom Self trusted immeasurably more than the young 'ens on the bench. This year, they're all young 'ens! So maybe he'll be more willing to use the depth to our advantage this year. Of course I could go off on another tangent and wonder about with so much depth will Self over-use the oft-talked about "quick hook" too much, but that will be a conversation for another time I suppose.

2) Definitely have seen an uptick in his game with "Papa" around. AW3's dad was in the house for the game too, and look what happened. Funny, a couple years ago it was the moms, now it's the dads.

3) Jayhawk nation has it's footprint everywhere!

4) Agreed. Second toughest will be Okie St.

5) I'd like to agree that they'll stumble and lose some games they shouldn't (mainly because I think talk of 40-0 sounds absurd on its face), but aside from Okie St. I just don't see a lot of opposition in conference play to where even if/when we come out flat we still won't out-talent our way to wins. Maybe ISU I guess.

6) It's early. Seems like they usually made an appearance closer to Christmas.

7) Imagine the talent in the KU-Kentucky game next year if everyone was made to stay!

The game at Iowa State will be a very difficult one as well. That will be the toughest environment that these young Jayhawks will encounter. A loss there would be an "upset" but not terribly surprising.

When you listen to guys like Black, Lucas, and White .. you really hope good things for them. But you also realize that they will probably do fine for themselves once their basketball careers are done, as well. A lot of guys on this team like that.

hey guys, i'm an old man, lol a little over 59 yrs old been a HUGE hawk fan all my life. I have NEVER, I repeat NEVER seen a team of ours that is soooooo deep. I can't begin to imagine one, coach self has assembled a team, such a young team but sooo talented I sit back and watch and try to curb my excitement because they are soo young, but its really hard not to. will they lose this year? oh ya I think they will 1 maybe 2 almost rather see them lose 1 before tourney the longer a team goes without a loss the more pressure they have, lets face it stronger teams a coming, teams with silimar talent, maybe not as deep but just as talented . I cam remember vegas team went undefeated and into the touney and was the nu 1 seed and thought would go undefeated and just didn't happen, but what a team still just scratching the surface of their talent Bottom line all I have to say is sit back and enjoy I feel this is gonna be a very special season have to understand it isn't always gonna be pretty, but again my god the raw talent of joel, the skills of Andrew, wayne, WAYNE is a man glad to see brennan get back on the floor a bit, mason has NO FEAR of the lane I could go on, and on, and on finally GO HAWKS

I love, Love, LOVE this team!! As has already been said, they have so much depth, so much talent, and SO MUCH athleticism!! They are SO fast (I don't ever remember a KU team this fast, especially in November) but I think what I love most is it seems to make absolutely no difference whether they're in a fast break or playing in the half court, their offense just works! It's so impressive how much they seem to improve game to game.

Andrew Wiggins is simply amazing and so fun to watch! For all the talk about his questionable effort, one of my favorite moments in this Towson game, came with just under 7 minutes left in the game, Kansas up by 30+ points, the game had been over for awhile...Wiggins hustled for an offensive board, and had to fight to rip it away from 2-3 Towson players. This is not a kid coasting through his only year in college, this is a man who wants to hang another NC banner in Allen Fieldhouse!

If Allen Iverson and Sherron Collins had beast-child, its name would be Frank Mason. Seriously he has no fear taking it right at a defense, and even when getting knocked to the ground, he has the poise to finish the shot! I'm so grateful he didn't have a black uniform on last night!

Of course, there were still some plays that left us scratching our heads...I still think Tharpe has to suppress his natural inclination to shoot; he is infinitely more valuable as a facilitator than a scorer. Having said that, it's hard to be too critical of how a team plays when they're up 35 points...

The only situation I'm curious to see how this team handles, is how will they respond when they're not playing well? What will they do if things aren't going their way, if the shots simply aren't falling? Usually in March, a team has to win at least one game like that, a lot of times against a lower seed (Purdue in 2012, VCU and Northern Iowa in previous years). I think the greatest strength we'll have in those situations is Perry Ellis. Not only does he seem to have nerves of steel, but he shoots such high-percentage shots!

Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to the Bahamas! Turkey dinner and KU basketball...can it get any better?? Rock Chalk!!

The nice part about this team is that if there is a guy that is struggling, every other player on the floor is competent enough to carry on. We can survive a bad night by a key player. Quite frankly I thought Tharpe sucked last night and KU rolled just fine without him.

TRUBLUE here. Coach Self will use the depth they have, especially with the new rules. It did seem, however, in watching the game, and all of the off ball stuff, that the refs last night were much more lenient, and let em play much more than the other games. I am an ex ref, and this new rule, is not really a new rule, per say. But I always called the game, with two things in mind (and we would teach other refs this, also), and that was: Advantage/DisAdvantage! In other words, if nobody gained an advantage, and it was not a really hard foul, let em play, and keep the flow of the game moving. The problem was that too many refs, let too much stuff go, that they should have called, and some basketball games, looked more like football games.
PS: On the depth thing: It is a whole lot easier to use it, when you have such intelligent, talented and athletic players!
Rock Chalk!

The discouraging aspect of the game came late in the 2nd half. Brannen Greene started playing like a cross between Rio Adams and CJ Henry - the "Hey notice me and my amazing ability" game instead of running the offense. Someone needs help him understand that Coach already knows how good he is, but what will get him PT is Coach's confidence in his ability to run the offense and defense as it has been design and very successfully implemented.

Brannen seems to be a great kid who got off to a rocky start at KU. Wasn't he tweeting about calculus class, his excitement about coming to Kansas etc? I seem to remember being impressed with statements from his father or coaches.

He's made some mistakes and now seems aware of the microscope he's under. I believe he rooms with Mason. Hope Frank's efforts to overcome a bad situation encourage Brannen to be patient, take care of business, and - like Andrew White, come out of the gate strong, confident, and much improved next year.

Greene has all kinds of potential, and would love him to find success at KU.